Most companies struggle to successfully migrate to the cloud because they lack a clear roadmap. The document provides six best practices for cloud planning based on experience helping companies migrate: 1) Ensure all stakeholders are onboard from executives to end users, 2) Roll out cloud services in phases to test effectiveness, 3) Align cloud purchases with business goals, 4) Choose a committed technology partner, 5) Coordinate the move across subsidiaries, and 6) Define processes upfront. Following these practices can help make the cloud migration process easier.

1. Most companies have a strategy for adopting cloud services but struggle during the
actual migration because they haven't set a clear roadmap. Based on our experience
helping companies migrate to the cloud, here are six cloud planning leading best
practices every company would benefit from following.
Each cloud implementation should begin with discussions that involve
everyone from C-suite executives to end users. Stakeholders should
include IT and Line-of-Business Managers, software developers, and third
party vendors. Getting the executives involved early heads off objections
later on, and it’s always helpful to explain to users why the organization has
chosen to migrate to new systems.
The IT department with their technology partners should also play a big role
to ensure that critical operations are never disrupted during the migration.
This is particularly true when integrating on-premises applications with
private and public clouds.
ENSURE THAT ALL STAKEHOLDERS
ARE ONBOARD.
Doing so will allow for business flexibility and agility by minimizing
overall disruption as well as creating the effect of business technology
transformation rather than just re-implementation. Move one area of
the business over, confirm stability and effectiveness of the new
technology, prove that the business and IT users have learned and
absorbed the new application and support processes, and then make
your next move to achieve success.
ROLL CLOUD SERVICES OUT IN PHASES.
Some lines of business may require cloud applications only to meet
their operational needs at lower costs, while more innovation-focused
departments may need on-demand compute, storage, and networking
infrastructure to deliver cloud-native applications faster. Ultimately,
however, all stakeholders must work together to achieve the same
big-picture objectives.
ALIGN CLOUD PURCHASES WITH
BUSINESS GOALS.
Every organization has unique needs, and an effective partner will be
able to accommodate existing assets while meeting future technology
requirements. Only global, experienced cloud providers with both
breadth and depth across applications, platforms, and infrastructure
can offer the best technology solutions, tools, and support.
Moreover, view the process less as a one-time transaction and more as
a long-term partnership. Select a vendor that aligns with your long
term cloud migration strategy and engage your vendor at every stage of
your digital transformation, building a strong, productive relationship.
Moving to the cloud can appear daunting, especially when these
changes impact critical processes. However, doing the up-front work,
involving the right stakeholders, and being clear on the intended ROI
will make the process a whole lot easier.
CHOOSE A COMMITTED TECHNOLOGY PARTNER.
The average multinational corporation has more than 187 subsidiaries—
according to estimates from Oracle—making it imperative for them to
move to the cloud in sync. Allowing subsidiaries to use separate cloud
solutions can have devastating effects on the entire ecosystem. System
and process integration is crucial to the success of any cloud migration.
Furthermore, leaving some subsidiaries behind others not only damages
the overall business by complicating global infrastructure, but it also
prevents those left behind from capitalizing on the increased agility and
lower costs made possible by cloud services, while making them
vulnerable to security gaps. Fortunately, implementing global systems
that meet the widest range of business requirements is no longer an
impossible task.
COORDINATE THE MOVE ACROSS SUBSIDIARIES.
This includes your approach toward your core business processes or
foundation. An established global solution template that aligns with
your cloud strategy (SaaS, hosting) can be replicated quickly and
predictably to cover business process flows along with technology
solution approaches. Having this part of the roadmap laid out will save
time and effort and will limit miscalculations when rolling out the cloud
services to additional countries, subsidiaries, or business functions.
DEFINE PROCESSES UP FRONT.
By Brian Sullivan
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Brian Sullivan is a managing director at Accenture. He has more than 18 years of experience with large-scale,
complex, global deployments of various Oracle ERP and EPM solutions supporting the financials and supply
chain business process areas across a variety of industries and has helped more than 70 clients with their cloud
migration initiatives.
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